The keyword for aerospace vehicles like NASA’s space shuttle is reusability. Professor Alberto Ortona, head of the Hybrid Materials Laboratory says: “A space vehicle enters the atmosphere from a low earth orbit with a speed of roughly 30’000 km/h. The vehicle is then decelerated by the friction of air which converts its kinetic energy into heat. As a result, the outer surface gets extremely hot”. For these structures not to burn upon re-entry, special hybrid materials are required – such as structural components made of advanced ceramics, which can withstand extreme conditions in terms of ultra-high temperature and thermal shock over a long period of time. Notably, such kind of components do not have to be replaced after each expedition.

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